


untangled

by seimaisin



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Comfort Hair Brushing, Episode Tag, F/M, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-26 03:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9859364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seimaisin/pseuds/seimaisin
Summary: Set post Episode 85."Whether or not I knew what was in your past, I saw you. And we all saw Scanlan, whether or not we knew his mother’s name or the person he thought he was before us."





	

When Percy opens the door to the inn room, he sees Vex standing in front of a long mirror. Her hair is loose, cascading over her shoulders and back in long waves, and she’s wielding a brush as fiercely as she might wield her bow, yanking on a knot near her ear. When she notices him, she doesn’t look up. “We have enough money to each have our own rooms, you know.”

After the last couple of days, he doesn’t take it personally. “I’m sorry, is this Vex I’m speaking with?” he says mildly. “Maybe our rakshasa friend came back early and replaced her.”

“Fuck you,” she replies, but her heart is clearly not in it.

Percy places his pack and his guns in the corner, slings his coat and cloak over a nearby chair, and bends to scratch behind Trinket’s ear - the bear lays next to the bed, and gives him what he imagines is a worried look. He gives Trinket a half smile - _don’t worry, I’m worried too_ \- then joins her at the mirror. When she continues to work at the knot in her hair, he puts a hand over the one holding the brush. “May I?”

She freezes for a moment, but finally relaxes her grip and lets him take the brush. He goes to work on the knot that has been thwarting her, gently tugging at the top of it. As he watches, her shoulders slowly slump. “You’re good at that, for someone who has such short hair.”

“I had sisters, you know. Have,” he corrects himself with a sigh.

“What were they like?” Vex asks. “I mean, I know Cassandra, sort of … but back then. I don’t think I’ve ever asked.”

Her voice is quiet, small, and when the reason hits him, Percy rather wants to find Scanlan and punch him squarely in the jaw. “Vesper was raised to be a nobleman’s wife, and she was desperate to begin her career. My parents were in the middle of initial negotiations with a family from Westruun before everything happened. I remember sitting with her one night, talking about how we both wanted the chance to leave Whitestone soon. She wanted her own house, her own family. I just wanted to travel.”

“Be careful what you wish for, I suppose,” she murmurs. Percy can only chuckle as he continues to slowly loosen the knot of hair. “How much don’t we know about each other, Percy?”

“Quite a bit, I’d imagine. But that’s okay. There’s time.” He meets her eyes in the mirror. “He didn’t want us to know. That’s on him.”

“Is it?”

“Yes.” Part of the knot gives way, and Percy lets the brush comb through her thick hair before going back to finish the rest of it. “Are we perfect? Of course not. Maybe we should have realized he was going through something. But to be fair, we’ve all been a fucking mess lately. Dragons, you know. And death. And all sorts of fun stuff like that.”

“I knew,” she whispers. Then, she clears her throat. “I mean, I should have. I saw him … here in Ank’harel, he was hurting. And he let down his guard, for just a brief moment. But then it was gone, and he made me promise not to tell anyone. And I didn’t.”

“You kept your promise. There’s nothing shameful about that.”

“But if I’d …”

“No buts,” he interrupts. “You respected his wishes. You can’t read minds, and he’s a brilliant liar.”

“I know. But still.”

“I know.” The last bit of the knot untangles, so Percy begins brushing through her hair slowly. It’s calming for both of them, it seems, judging by the way her eyelids droop. “I thought about telling you all about my family a dozen times or more,” he says softly. “Sometimes I wanted to talk about it more than anything else in the world. But the words always stuck in my throat. Maybe you’d think I was weak, maybe you’d tell me I shouldn’t have run away. Maybe you’d find my fear of going back selfish. Maybe you’d stop liking me.”

“Of course we wouldn’t, we never would have.”

“I know. It was me - those were things I thought about myself. I was afraid that one of you would confirm that I was just as terrible as I thought I was.”

Vex is silent for a long moment. “I never consciously thought any of that, not about any of you. But there was a moment, back in the Feywild, when you found me with my armor … I think there was a moment I was terrified that I’d look in your eyes and see the same thing I saw in every person we ever met in Syngorn.”

Now Percy lets the brush fall, and wraps his free arm around Vex’s waist. She sinks back into him, tucking her head against his cheek. “I saw you,” he says softly. “Whether or not I knew what was in your past, I saw you. And we all saw Scanlan, whether or not we knew his mother’s name or the person he thought he was before us.”

Vex closes her eyes and sways a little in his grasp. “I was right, to go find Kaylie,” she says, though there’s a hint of a question in her voice.

“You were. I believe he’d still be dead without her. You need … something strong, to draw you back.”

Now Vex’s eyes fly open, and Percy doesn’t quite realize the topic he’s opened until she’s halfway through her question. “Percy. When you were … when you were dead, did you hear me?”

There’s no avoiding it now. “Yes,” he admits quietly. “Yes, I did.”

“You lied.”

“I … I wasn’t ready.” He sighs, and tightens his arm around her. “After everything - after Orthax - I wasn’t ready to talk about any of it. I’m still not, to be honest. I hope you’ll be patient with me.”

Vex turns in his arms, and wraps her own around his waist. “I can be patient. But you know I’m here to listen when you’re ready, right?”

“Yes. I do.” But there’s something she needs to hear right now, whether or not he’s ready to say it. When he speaks again, his voice is barely more than a whisper. “You brought me back, Vex. I think half the reason I didn’t tell you is that I don’t want you to feel … obligated, in any way, but …” He presses a kiss to her hair. “It was you.”

There’s a long pause, during which something begins to twist in Percy’s stomach. Then Vex looks up at him, eyes shining suspiciously bright. “You asshole,” she says, affection clear in her voice. “Fuck obligation. You’ll have to do some serious damage to be rid of me now.”

“Perish the thought.”

They stand like that for a long time. There’s still a tension running through Vex’s muscles, but a broken heart isn’t so easily mended with words alone. But Percy vows to be there to shore up the cracks, because he knows she’ll do the same for him. That’s what family means, after all.


End file.
